1911 Barrel problems..

[wayoutwest]

So I found this when I was cleaning last night, it came out of my I have zero complaints or problems Norinco. Not being very familiar with the ins' and outs of the 1911, still ok to shoot it while shopping for a new barrel or no F'in way.

Any recommendations for a decent without breaking the bank "drop in" or at least "semi drop in" replacement? How much fitting is to be expected when replacing a barrel? Any pointers? OR is it something I should have someone with 1911 skills replace.

Thanks for any assistance.

[Gunsmith Dan]

I would say no because not only is that side broken off but in the picture the other side has large chunks missing as well.

It looks like they used a high carbon steel for the barrel looking at the way it sheared off, a clean glass like break as opposed to seeing some bending on the edges.

The other problem that you also might have is a link that is to long or stretched as well. If you have that problem the barrel will slam into the frame block as opposed to stopping on the top of the frame as it should. The repeated slaming on that area along with a brittle metal is what I think caused the area to shear off. In fact the metal is brittle enough that the slamming to the rear is what is causing the chucks to come off the front on the other side.

So NO DON'T SHOOT IT anymore would be my professional advice.

As far as barrels goto Midway USA or Brownells for drop type barrels as they have good selections. The rule of thumb is the more fitting a gunsmith has to do the more accuate it will shoot, of course there is many other factors that affect accuracy but close barrel fit does help.


Hope this helps

[Mikeb]

I think the trick to barrel fitting is link length. I know I dropped in an Ed Brown drop in and after a few thousand rounds I pulled the trigger one day and the whole barrel slide everything except the frame in my hand went downrange.

good luck
Mike

[wash]

Beside the obvious barrel problem, the frame should be checked for a correctly cut barrel seat and vertical impact surface (I think that is the term).

In terms of the link, I believe the proper fit is ~slack at link up and link down, too short and the link will be stopping the barrel at link up rather than the lower lugs, too long and it will bind at maximum link up. If the VIS of the barrel and frame aren't fitted properly, the link will be stopping the barrel when it is recoiling which is not good but you size your link for link up and then you make sure the barrel stops on the frame by fitting the lower lug, not the link.

[modls7]

Can you show me a picture inside of your frame? The area where those lugs impact.

[wayoutwest]

Can you show me a picture inside of your frame? The area where those lugs impact.

Hows this?

[Kruzr]

It is not OK to shoot. As you can see on the frame, the lug that broke was making full contact with the impact shield. The "bowtie" pattern on top is what you want. The barrel was not fit properly and the lugs weren't cut right.

You need a new barrel. A drop in may or may not.

[Alex$]

Did you buy this new? The lugs on that barrel don't look like they have been peening, but the frame shows what looks like peening on the right side. Wondering if you bought this second hand with a replacement barrel on it.

[Snoopy47]

This is what you WANT:

[gasol1ne]

try to find a surplus replacement 779 barrel. i got 1 last month for about $100 or so. Those are military replacement barrels. Good value in my opinion.

[eaglemike]

Regarding link fitting - some people think fitting a longer link makes things better. It won't, unless needed for proper fitting. The barrel is supposed to lock up on the bottom lugs and slide stop pin (on the bottom side). The link is supposed to pull the barrel down out of the way as it moves rearward.

OP, a drop in barrel might work. You pretty much get what you pay for.... Last time I checked, Bar-Sto was pretty reasonable when it comes to barrel fitting. For a little more $$$ you might have a nice setup.

[Gunsmith Dan]

Yep after looking at the new picture you definately need a gunsmith to look over your frame as well. While it is bad enough buying something made in China buying something made in China, designed by Chinese and sold by a Chinese company is even worst (my humble personal opinion not a professional one based on hard fact).

You would not really see peening on metal that was very hard as it would be brittle and shear off like glass if struck hard enough over time. I would be concerned that the frame might be made the same way and you could have developed hairline cracks.

Take it to a gunsmith to get checked out before you spend any money on parts and don't shoot it.

[wash]

Well, Norinco 1911s were designed by John Moses Browning so you don't have to worry about Chinese design.

I think the lighting might be making the frame rails look bad on the Norinco. I would need to take a closer look at the VIS and barrel lower lugs before I make a judgement.

Also look at the slide stop (pin portion).

If you inspect the frame and confirm that everything agrees with the M1911 Ordnance spec, fitting a new barrel should solve any problems.

If the barrel was also in spec, then it's time for a little failure analysis. The grain of the metal at the fracture will tell you what kind of failure occurred and if you are lucky you might be able to identify a stress riser that the crack propagated from.

If you can get a good idea of what exactly caused the break, you will be able to confirm if fitting a new barrel eliminated the issue.

From what I've seen, I think it may have just been a roughly machined lower lug creating a stress riser and stopping the slide as it moves forward in to battery under recoil spring force was enough to start a crack and eventually break the lug.

[Gunsmith Dan]

Ahhh was taking about design of the factory and machines to make the pistol not the actual pistol design of a 1911, unless you are trying to say John Browning was Chinese

Besides we all know you can take 10 1911's from 10 different manufacturers and they all will have different tolerances, metal types and machining/casting processes.

NO fitting a new barrel will not fix any problems except getting rid of the problem of having cash. The amount of forces slaming that barrel hard enough and every time it is shot to shear any metal like that can cause colateral damage.

I will say it again most of the time when this severe of a defect happens to a barrel there is damage to the frame. If the metal used for the barrel is that brittle the frame very likely is made of the same metal. There could be cracks or the frame at the rails could also have been widen out.

This is my serious professional advice .......... take it to a gunsmith to look at before you spend any money on parts and definately do not shoot it.

[eaglemike]

Norinco frames were used (several years ago) by some very serious gunsmiths as the basis for a custom 1911. I have one, and nothing at all wrong with the frame (or slide). The barrel looks decent too, but it's been replaced with a match barrel (I did the fitting on my CNC mill just because).